1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a format for automatic generation of unique ATM addresses used for PNNI.
2. Related Art
In known ATM systems, each node performing the PNNI protocol must be assigned a unique 20-byte ATM address in a standard format specified by the ATM Forum User-Network Interface Specification (Presently version 3.1). The “PNNI protocol” refers to the protocol specified by the ATM Forum Private Network—Network Interface Specification (presently version 1.0).
One technique for assigning unique addresses for nodes in an ATM network is to assign them manually, thus assuring that each address is unique and also that the nodes form peer groups as desired by the operator configuring the ATM network. However, this technique can be tedious, particularly for ATM networks which include a relatively large number of nodes.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a method and system for assigning ATM addresses automatically, which by default causes similar devices (such as those from the same manufacturer) to be configured in the same peer group for PNNI protocol purposes. This advantage is achieved in an embodiment of the invention in which a first portion of an ATM address is set to a value unique to the manufacturer (or otherwise unique to a selected class of devices), while a second portion of the ATM address is set to a value unique to the specific device.